The NEC Display Solutions NP-M402X projector($959) offers high quality for data images and support for 3D. The combination makes it a potentially attractive pick as an XGA projector for a small to midsize room. A generous 1.7x zoom, a tad greater than the Epson PowerLite 965 XGA 3LCD Projector's 1.6x zoom, allows for good flexibility in placement.

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The key feature that the DLP-based M402X offers that might make you choose it over the LCD-based Epson 965 is 3D support, which is all but standard on DLP projectors but rarely available on LCD models.

Unlike many projectors with 3D, the M402X will even work with a 3D signal over an HDMI connection with Blu-ray players and other video devices. Unfortunately, it's a little clumsy to use. You have turn the 3D mode on manually to use it and then turn it off when you're finished, with 13 button presses on the remote each time. If you use 3D very often, this could quickly get tiresome, although it's better than not having 3D at all.

The disadvantages for the M402X compared with the Epson 965 are also related to the differences between DLP and LCD projectors in general. Like most DLP projectors, the M402X tends to show rainbow artifacts (flashes of red, green, and blue), which three-chip LCD projectors are guaranteed not to show. As is typical, these tend to show more often in video than in data images.

Another issue that's common for DLP projectors is that the M402X has lower color brightness than white brightness, as I confirmed in a quick test. A lower color brightness can affect color quality, and it also means that full-color images won't be as bright as you would expect from the white brightness rating. (For more on color brightness, see Color Brightness: What It Is, Why It Matters.) The good news is that neither of these issues is remotely serious enough to rule the projector out.

Setup, Connections, and BrightnessThe M402X measures 3.5 by 13.4 by 10.1 inches (HWD) and weighs 9 pounds, making it most suitable for permanent installation. Setup is standard fare, with manual controls for the focus and 1.7x zoom. The back panel offers all the choices for image input that you're likely to need, including HDMI, VGA, and composite video ports. There's a USB Type B port for direct USB display and for controlling the computer mouse from the projector's remote, a LAN port for sending images and audio, and for controlling the projector over a network, and a USB Type A port for reading files directly from a USB memory key or for connecting an optional ($80) Wi-Fi dongle.

Because of the difference between white and color brightness with the M402X, predicting an appropriate image size for any given level of ambient light isn't as straightforward as it would be with a projector that delivers matching readings for color and white brightness. Strictly as a point of reference, however, using the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) recommendations, and assuming a 1.0 gain screen, the rated 4,000 lumens for the M402X would be bright enough for roughly a 230- to 315-inch (diagonal) image in theater-dark lighting. In moderate ambient light, the suitable size would drop to about 155 inches.

As with most projectors, you can lower the M402X's brightness for smaller screen sizes by using Eco mode, one of the lower-brightness preset modes, or both. In my tests, I used a 98-inch (diagonal) image, which was easily bright enough to stand up to the ambient light in a typical conference room or classroom.

Data and Video Image QualityQuality for data images was easily good enough for most purposes. On our standard suite of DisplayMate tests, colors were generally well-saturated, for example, but red and yellow were both a little dark in some preset modes, as is typical for projectors with differences between white brightness and color brightness.

More of a potential problem for data screens is that the M402X had some minor trouble holding detail well. White text on black was easily readable at 10.5 points, but began to lose readability at 9 points. Black text on white was much better, and easily readable even at 6.8 points.

In addition to being limited by the native XGA resolution, video suffers from unusually obvious judder (jerky movement) when a camera pans across a scene. Rainbow artifacts—which the projector does a good job of resisting showing with data images—show up often enough and obviously enough with video that anyone who sees them easily will almost certainly find them bothersome, even for short clips.

As a decidedly minor plus, the audio system, with a 20-watt mono speaker, delivers reasonably good sound quality with enough volume for a midsize room. You can also connect an external audio system to the stereo audio output.

If you need an XGA projector and don't need 3D, you're better off with the Editors' Choice Epson 965, especially if you want to display video. If you need 3D and video, you might also want to consider the BenQ MX600. It isn't as bright as the NEC NP-M402X, but it offers more watchable video, with far fewer rainbow artifacts. If you're not planning to show video however, the M402X can deliver a bright image at a size suitable for a midsize room, the easier setup that you get with a 1.7x zoom lens, and near-excellent image quality for data images.

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M. David Stone is an award-winning freelance writer and computer industry consultant. Although a confirmed generalist, with writing credits on subjects as varied as ape language experiments, politics, quantum physics, and an overview of a top company in the gaming industry. David is also an expert in imaging technologies (including printers, monitors, large-screen displays, projectors, scanners, and digital cameras), storage (both magnetic and optical), and word processing. He is a recognized expert on printers, well known within the industry, and has been a judge for...
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